Daimler downplays report on rigged U.S. emission-test software

Enrique Rogers |Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Mercedes Diesels May Have Cheated in US Emission Tests

Some software altered how much diesel exhaust-treatment fluid to apply, and some diesel vehicles emitted nitrogen oxide - the smog-forming pollutant at the heart of the Volkswagen Group'sdiesel scandal - at up to 10 times the legal levels, according to Automotive News.

Daimler has already admitted significant consequences may arise following reports in Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper that ongoing United States and German investigations are determining whether multiple functions in the software could be used to cheat tests, and that Daimler's own employees questioned their legality.

GERMAN MEDIA allege that U.S. authorities have discovered that Daimler, parent of Mercedes, developed software for its diesel-powered vehicles that would shut down vital emissions equipment after driving just a short distance. A spokesperson from Daimler told Reuters, "The authorities know the documents and no complaint has been filed". "The documents available to Bild have obviously selectively been released in order to harm Daimler and its 290,000 employees".

Monday, the day after the story broke, Daimler stock fell 2 percent.

Analysts said Daimler's regulatory problems may not be of the same magnitude as those seen by Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler.

Daimler AG's share price on the DAX stock exchange fell by two percent to 71.06 euros (88.01 USA dollars) on Monday following a report that the German luxury carmaker was being targeted by US authorities in the ongoing "dieselgate" scandal. The investigators are now checking if there is any cheating software that controlled the emission clean system to regulate emission based on speed or acceleration.

In the wake of Volkswagen's crisis, which affects almost 600,000 US cars from the 2009-16 model years, USA regulators have scrutinized other automakers with diesel vehicles, including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Mercedes-Benz.

Earlier this month, German magazine Der Spiegel also reported that officials in Daimler's native country will recall Mercedes-Benz Vito vans next week.

German prosecutors searched Daimler premises in May 2017 as part of an ongoing fraud probe related to false advertising and the possible manipulation of exhaust-gas after-treatment in diesel cars. One of those software functions turned off emissions cleaning after the vehicle had driven 26 km.

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